A Different Kind of Drug Policy in Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake joined five other cities in Virginia's Hampton Roads region at the end of the summer in an experimental change in its handling of parole violations by nonviolent drug offenders. The Virginian Pilot checks in this week and finds a small but growing alternative to the usual punitive means of dealing with the area's drug users.

The Chesapeake program brings offenders before the drug court once a week as they progress through a three part program involving counseling, a required job search, and strict monitoring with sanctions for relapses. The drug court trades the traditional adversarial approach in favor of a cooperative process that brings the justice system together with the Department of Rehabilitative Services and community groups to encourage and enable recovery.

The various groups can assist, if needed. In fact, the judges often ask a client during court, "is there anything we can do to help you?"

As the Hampton Roads areas grow- Chesapeake is already the third most populated city in the Commonwealth- city leaders and officials are going to have to think creatively about dealing effectively with nonviolent crime, which the Circuit Court judges behind the program acknowledge. The openmindedness of the judges and their community partners are an encouraging start.

"Drugs cause such horrendous problems," Judge Goodwyn said. "I felt like we had to do something. I had heard a lot of positive information about drug court and thought it was worth looking into."